Indonesia Turns Asian Games Records into Momentum for Global Sport

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia closed its campaign at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with 39 medals and nine record-breaking performances, giving the country valuable momentum for athlete development and future international competitions.

The Indonesian contingent collected five gold, 11 silver and 23 bronze medals to finish 16th in the final standings, surpassing its target of four gold medals.

All five gold medals came from Olympic sports: the men's badminton team, men's doubles pair Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin, weightlifter Rahmat Erwin Abdullah, speed climber Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi and archer Nurisa Dian Ashrifah.

Beyond the medal tally, Indonesian athletes also strengthened the country's competitiveness at the Asian and international levels through a series of new records.

One of the most significant performances came from Rahmat Erwin Abdullah in the men's 75kg weightlifting event. He recorded a 206kg clean and jerk and a 366kg total, both of which became world records as well as Asian and Asian Games records.

His performance produced six records in total: three record categories for the 206kg clean and jerk and three for the 366kg total, at the world, Asian and Asian Games levels. He also secured Indonesia's gold medal in the event.

Sport climbing demonstrated its status as one of Indonesia's strongest sports in Asia. Aditya Tri Syahri set a new Asian Games Record in the men's speed event with a time of 4.62 seconds, improving on the previous mark of 4.95 seconds set by Veddriq Leonardo at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi won gold in the women's speed event after clocking 6.062 seconds, setting both an Asian Record and an Asian Games Record. Her previous marks were 6.07 seconds, set in Meishan for the Asian record, and 6.52 seconds, recorded at Hangzhou for the Asian Games record.

Indonesia also achieved several historic milestones during the Games. The men's badminton team ended Indonesia's 28-year wait for an Asian Games gold medal in the event before Leo/Daniel added another gold in men's doubles.

Nurisa Dian Ashrifah made history by winning Indonesia's first Asian Games gold medal in archery. Known as Hani, she defeated the Philippines' Amaya Amparo Cojuangco 139-137 in the women's individual compound final.

Newer sports also contributed to Indonesia's medal haul. Teqball, padel, MMA and surfing won silver and bronze medals, reflecting the increasingly broad range of Indonesian sporting achievements at the Asian level.

Esports also delivered Indonesia's first medal since the discipline became an official Asian Games sport at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.

Indonesia's achievements were particularly significant because several events that had previously provided gold medals at Hangzhou 2022 were not contested in Aichi-Nagoya, including the men's and mixed 10-meter running target events and the men's 1,000-meter dragon boat event.

Chef de Mission (CdM) of the Indonesian contingent Todotua Pasaribu expressed appreciation to the athletes, officials, sports federations, NOC Indonesia, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and all parties involved in Indonesia's campaign.

"Alhamdulillah, praise be to God. As of today, after seeing the total medals achieved by Team Indonesia, 39 medals, consisting of five gold, 11 silver and 23 bronze, this is certainly our best achievement," Todotua said on Monday, October 5, 2026, as quoted on the Indonesian Youth and Sports Ministry's official website.

He said the five gold medals exceeded the four-gold target set by the ministry. "Based on the target given by the ministry, four gold medals, Team Indonesia at these Asian Games managed to achieve five gold medals," he added.

Todotua attributed the result to strong coordination and consolidation among the CdM team, NOC Indonesia, the ministry and the participating sports federations.

"The Asian Games is a competition full of challenges. But with good coordination and consolidation, with NOC, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and especially the sports federations participating in this competition, we coordinated well," he explained.

He added that non-technical challenges during the Games were managed so athletes could remain focused on competition.

"All the challenges we faced could be resolved well on the non-technical side. We are very happy and satisfied because we were able to anticipate all the obstacles in Nagoya and ensure our athletes could compete as well as possible and to their fullest," he concluded.

For Indonesia, the Aichi-Nagoya campaign was about more than its position in the medal standings. The medals, records and historic achievements reflected the progress of Indonesian athletes competing at the highest level in Asia.

The Games also provided a platform for new records, historic achievements and emerging sports to develop. These results are expected to become an important foundation for Indonesia's athlete development and its pursuit of success at future international sporting events. ***